Apparently the first girl group of Turkish generation

Step on black platform boots. Pink, purple and blue light burst. Smoke wrapped around the front stage inside a 3,500-person venue in Istanbul, dressed in lace, fur and chains. The singer moves in the formation; it's not very crisp, not very crazy, but something without a doubt. The crowd opened the lyrics’ debut single “Zamansızdık” while the others shouted the group’s name: List.

In his twenties, he was composed of six members – Sueda Uluca, Hilal Yelekçi, Lidya Pınar, Zeynep Oktay, Mina Solak and Esin Bahat – was obviously a Turkish girl group, with a fluent energy choreography, femininity, femininity and instability advantages, and none of them stood in this country in this country, which was more important than that. “In women’s groups, people often want to bother each other,” said Yerkissi. “But for us, strength comes from being together. We think it’s strength, not competition.”

Since winning big5a TV-based talent show aims to find Turkey’s next big music group in January, the list keeps rolling out new music and content, just like there’s no tomorrow. The group is as diverse in background as the purpose unity. Most are college students or recent graduates with a balanced degree in fields such as psychology, engineering and design, and are passionate about dance and performance. Their influence ranged from Hepsi (Türkiye’s first official female band, popular in the early 2000s) to Lisa in Blackpink.

Their debut concert in February at Jolly Joker Arena in Istanbul felt like a soft start and an estimate. What does it mean to be a female band in Türkiye now? How do you build a starting point in the popular industry that rarely allows women to share the spotlight without unhealthy comparisons?

“It's not just singing or dancing,” Oktay said. “It's about lifting each other up. From day one, we knew: If we were to do that, it had to be based on women's unity.”

In a country where female artists have almost always been solo (Sezen Aksu, Sertab Erener, Ajda Pekkan), it shows that some difference. Their names indicate intention to announce, shape, hope and take up space. Formed through months of competition and guidance from Turkish pop idols like Gülçin Ergül big5the group not only performs pop music. They are defining a new blueprint, with Istanbul's texture mixed into their DNA.

In that February concert, this guidance was the complete circle when the Goul team performed “Bir Tanecikaşkım” by joining Subtest on stage, which was one of her solo songs. This moment sparked cheers from the sold-out venue crowd – from Türkiye’s first group of girls to the latest symbolic handover. For long-time Hepsi fans, it feels like a torch relay. For the list, it marks a moment of verification: a woman who paved the way is cheering them on.

These numbers back them up. Since its release in February – Not far behind Hepsi's most iconic tracks, such as the group's debut single in 2005, “Olmaz Oğlan,” which exceeded 16 million. (“Yalan”, Hepsi played the most songs close to 45 million.) These are the numbers the group has collected over 20 years. The second single on the list, “Arıyo,” reached 4 million views on YouTube in just four weeks. It was a rare moment in Turkish pop music, something that was clearly encountered in the past and future, and also a sign of the audience’s hunger for the energy of the list.

Uluca attributes some of this momentum to big5. “In the planning, we are all just our natural selves, so people are able to connect with us at that moment,” she said. “To be honest, I’m also related to it. When I get to know artists, I also become more curious and passionate about art.”

Their arrival is a relief for Turkish pop fans. Not because they promised to escape, but because they provided recognition; especially the feeling of girls taking up space, moving together and shouting about it. “We want to see girls who we know we don’t have to be alone,” Yelek çi said. “You can wear the clothes you want, you can cry, and then go on stage. You can build something with friends, and it can be powerful.”

This visibility and intimacy illustrates a generation that has been waiting for behavior like a list. “Maybe Türkiye isn't fully prepared,” Oktay reflects. “But people need this. There is a gap. Maybe when we arrive, they finally see something worth sticking to.”

The rise of the list is also a deeper thing: the desire for collectives, visibility and joy, which does not ignore difficulties. Their fans are building streaming campaigns, designing fan art and learning choreography unreleased songs. The group encountered this energy with open arms. “We share everything with them,” Yelekçi said. “We are like most fans, and that helps. Even casual selfies in the elevator are a moment.”

Their aesthetic balances high concept polish with local flavor. They shoot videos in barber shops and markets. They wear miniskirts on their pants and drink Tea (Turkish Tea) in the public square. “We always cross the bridge literally and emotionally,” Ok said, referring to the way Istanbul split between Europe and Asia, as well as the traditional but unique cultural dilemma in a modern setting. “Duality is our identity.”

Yelekçi recalls a particularly rooted moment: visiting the Eminönü market in Istanbul, one of the oldest and busiest areas of the city, where suppliers sell spices, teas, small household goods and accessories.

“The real turkey is not what you see on social media,” she said. “This is our uncle, fishermen and shop owners in a market like this. That's a big part of our identity,” she added: “We're not choosing one or the other; we're both, and we're proud of it. Traditional and modern; side by side.”

Their voices are equally layered. Turkish folk influences weaving through hip-hop beats. Choreography quotes K-Pop and the underground dance scene in Istanbul. “We are a Turkish girl group, and that's something we're proud of,” Sorak explained. “We don't want to sound or look like anyone else. We want to move our culture forward and let the world know who we are.”

Bahat said the team members made them more resilient. “When one of us is tired, there will always be someone else who step in or motivates. Even now, talking to you, we feel more confident because we are together. That's our power.”

The motivation is not relaxed. A short film and two other singles are about to be released – one will be played today and another will be released on May 31. Their debut album set on June 13. “We've been living with these songs. We hardly listen to any other sounds,” Pınar said with a smile. “We hope we are excited.”

The list is also building things other Turkish groups have not tried before: performances, fan-centric music and art festivals that will not only make headlines but will be organized and owned. “We want to create a free space for girls. Seminars, panels, dancing. It's not just a show. It's lasting thing.”

They were already thinking about what would happen next. “We want the world to sing in Turkish. If Rosalia can make us fall in love with Spanish, why not?” They glanced at each other. “All we hoped so far has happened. We showed it. We are not done yet.”